


Overbearing

by awgaskarth0805



Category: All Time Low (Band)
Genre: Sickfic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-23
Updated: 2020-01-23
Packaged: 2021-02-27 12:48:47
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,140
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22377478
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/awgaskarth0805/pseuds/awgaskarth0805
Summary: Alex gets sick on tour, and Jack goes a bit too far when taking care of him.
Comments: 2
Kudos: 2





	Overbearing

**Author's Note:**

> This is a request, and is set in 2009ish!

“Alex, are you sure that you don’t want me to run to a grocery store and get you some honey and lemon tea?” Jack asked, opening the door to their shared hotel room.  
“Jack, I promise I’m fine, it’s just a sore throat,” Alex said, his voice raspy.  
“Yeah, and a raspy voice. I don’t want you to get really sick, I know how hard that is for you when we’re on tour,” Jack replied as Alex started to go through his suitcase.  
“I appreciate the concern, I really do, but I’m okay. I’m going to sleep, and I think that getting a full eight hours will help me kick whatever this is before it even starts,” Alex said, coughing some.  
“If you really think so, I’ll drop it. But, if you actually do get sick, I try to take care of you like I always do,” Jack stated. Alex gave his friend a small smile before going into the bathroom to get ready for bed. Jack turned on the TV and paid an On-Demand fee so that they could watch South Park, one of their favorite shows.  
“Sweet, South Park is on!” Alex exclaimed, climbing into his bed.  
“I put it on just for you. Get some rest, man,” Jack instructed, quickly changing into his PJs.   
“Don’t worry, I will,” Alex replied, getting comfortable with the blankets and pillows on the bed.   
Not too far into the episode, Jack heard light snores coming from his friend, and immediately knew that Alex was feeling worse than he was letting on; he only snored when he was under the weather. In that moment, Jack promised himself that he’d spend the next day doing his best to take care of his friend before their show that night.  
\--------------------  
When Alex woke up to the sun shining through the window of the hotel room, he groaned. He felt worse than he did the night before; his throat still hurt, but he now had light chills and aches, and generally felt sick.   
He looked at the clock to see that it was only eight thirty and decided to go back to sleep. He turned away from the window and shut his eyes before bursting into a coughing fit.   
Suddenly, Jack walked through the door with some shopping bags, but quickly set them on the floor before rushing over to Alex. He helped Alex sit up and rubbed his back until the fit finally went away.  
“Did I wake you? I’m sorry,” Alex said, now sounding congested and still raspy.  
“No, I’ve been up,” Jack replied.  
“This early? You’re never up at this time,” Alex said with a sneeze.  
“I went to the grocery store. I knew you were getting sick, you coughed throughout the night, and you only snore when you’re feeling bad,” Jack explained.  
“Oh, well I appreciate that, but I think I’m just going to go back to sleep for now,” Alex said, trying to lay back down.  
“Not yet! We have a show tonight; you’re not sick enough for us to cancel, so I want to do everything that I can to help you feel better before it,” Jack explained.  
“Thanks, Jack, but I think I just want to sleep for now,” Alex replied.  
“Give me five minutes. I’ll spare you going through everything that I picked up for now, so I’ll just show you what I think you need now,” Jack said, grabbing the shopping bags.  
“Okay, here’s some tissues. I got you a couple boxes, partly so you don’t run out, and partly because I couldn’t pick which design I liked better out of the two boxes,” Jack said, setting the boxes on the nightstand. Alex grabbed one of them, quickly opening it up and using a tissue since he was so congested.  
“I also got you some different medicines. I got you fever reducers, cold and flu medicine, and decongestant,” Jack continued.  
“Fever reducers? I don’t even think I have a fever,” Alex stated. Jack put a hand to Alex’s forehead, to Alex’s surprise.  
“You feel a bit warm. Luckily, I got something that will tell us for sure!” Jack exclaimed, pulling a neon green thermometer out of one of the bags.  
“I don’t think I need that, I-“ Alex was cut off by Jack putting the thermometer into his mouth. Alex rolled his eyes as they waited for the beep.  
“It says 99.2, so you have a low fever. Are you having chills at all?” Jack asked.  
“A bit, but-“ Alex was interrupted again by Jack. This time, he pulled out a hoodie that had the name of the city they were in across the front of it.  
“This should warm you up some,” Jack said, giving Alex the hoodie.  
“Oh, thanks,” Alex said with a sneeze.  
“Let’s get you some cold and flu medicine,” Jack said, pouring the correct amount for his friend.  
“I really appreciate all of this, but can I go to sleep now? Besides, if I’m asleep, you can go hang out with Zack and Rian,” Alex stated.  
“And leave you all alone? No way, man, I’m here for you, all day!” Jack exclaimed, to which Alex gave him a fake smile in reply. He really did appreciate Jack’s intentions, but Jack did have a bit of a history of getting a bit overbearing and obsessive when Alex was under the weather.   
Alex got comfortable, and quickly fell back to sleep, the taste of artificial cherry lingering in his mouth.   
\--------------  
“Jack, I don’t feel warmer, I promise I’m okay,” Alex said a couple hours later, as Jack tried to get him to use the thermometer again.  
“Alex, I just want to make sure, I don’t want you to get worse,” Jack tried. Alex rolled his eyes as he let Jack use the thermometer, hoping it would shut him up.  
“It’s 99.3, it went up a whole degree! Do you want a fever reducer?” Jack offered.  
“Dude, it just went up one degree, I’m fine,” Alex said with a cough.  
“Well, maybe you’re up for some soup? I got fresh chicken noodle from the deli; I know it’s your favorite!” Jack exclaimed.  
“I’m not really hungry,” Alex replied.  
“You have to eat, we don’t want you getting malnourished. I’m going to heat it up, then maybe you can try to have some of it,” Jack stated. Knowing arguing was useless, Alex stayed silent as Jack heated up the soup. Once it was done, Jack put it into a mug, then sat on the side of Alex’s bed.  
“Um, what’re you doing?” Alex asked, as Jack held a spoonful of soup up to him.  
“I want you to stay warm, so I’ll feed it to you,” Jack explained.  
“Jack, I can feed myself, I’m not even that sick,” Alex said, trying to sit up some.  
“No, you need to rest, I don’t mind,” Jack replied.  
“Well, I do. Jack, you’ve been babying me all day! I really do appreciate the concern, but I’m not dying, it’s just a cold,” Alex said, raising his voice some.  
“I know, but I don’t want you to get worse, I-“ Jack started.  
“Jack, I’m not going to get worse by feeding myself some soup that I don’t even want! Can you please let the fuck up some? This is too much,” Alex snapped, hurting Jack’s feelings.  
“Um, sorry. I’m going to go to Rian and Zack’s room,” Jack said in a shaky voice. He set the soup down on the nightstand, then quickly made his way out of the room.   
Alex sighed, he hadn’t meant to hurt Jack, he knew that his friend was just trying to help him. While he did think that Jack had gone a bit too far, he knew that he shouldn’t have reacted that way, it was a dick move after all of the kindness that Jack had shown him that day. Not wanting to think about what he’d done, Alex closed his eyes, hoping to drift off as the guilt started to take over him.  
\-------------------  
Alex had a rough day. Jack never came back to the hotel room, so when it was time to go to the venue, Alex forced himself up to get ready before going down to the lobby to meet up with the rest of his band. Rian and Zack gave Alex awkward looks as they all got into the car that would take them to the venue. The ride was silent, aside from Alex’s occasional coughs and sneezes.   
They did a full soundcheck, and that took quite a toll on Alex. Alex felt super worn out, and all of his symptoms felt worse. Zack, Rian and Jack all went out to eat dinner and get drinks, leaving Alex on his own to rest up before the show.   
Over the course of the next few hours, Alex continued to feel worse. He wasn’t sure if it was illness setting in, or the guilt he had from earlier. He knew that if he hadn’t snapped at Jack, Jack would’ve stayed back with him at the venue, trying his best to help Alex as much as he could before the show, even if he was a bit over the top.   
Once it was showtime, Alex’s cough had gotten worse, and his chills were more prominent. No one had checked on him, so when he knew he had to get to the stage entrance, he did his best to freshen up before walking over to the stage.   
Jack was talking to Zack and Rian as they tuned up their guitars, but immediately stopped when Alex walked over. Alex felt a wave of guilt rush through him as they were told to take the stage. As much as Alex hated to think this, it was easily one of his least favorite shows they’d ever played. Not only did he feel progressively worse throughout it, but the vibe felt very off. Alex and Jack didn’t exchange much banter, and it was very clear that there was a disconnect between them, and Alex hoped that it wasn’t as clear to the fans as it was to him.   
As soon as they walked offstage, Alex bolted out of the venue, and had an Uber take him back to the hotel. He knew that his friends were planning on going out, and he felt so bad, both physically and mentally, that he just wanted to get in his bed at the hotel and wallow in self-pity.   
When Alex got up to his room, he quickly changed, then climbed into bed, wrapping himself tightly in the covers to attempt at combatting his chills. He started to think about earlier, about how stupid he was to be such a jerk to Jack when all he was trying to do was help. Alex was snapped out of his thoughts by a harsh coughing fit that stung at his throat.   
Jack timidly walked into the room, a bit nervous to face Alex, but immediately replaced his fear with concern when he saw Alex coughing hard. He walked up to Alex’s bed, and rubbed his back until he could breathe again.  
“You came back?” Alex asked in a wrecked voice.   
“Of course, why wouldn’t I?” Jack asked, sounding genuinely surprised by Alex’s question.  
“Because I was a dick when all you trying to do earlier was help me,” Alex replied.   
“I mean, that did hurt my feelings quite a bit, but I can tell that you’ve gotten worse. I could tell onstage, and I didn’t want to just leave you to fend for yourself tonight,” Jack explained.  
“Jack, you’re the best friend ever. I’m so sorry about earlier,” Alex said, sounding as guilty as he’d spent the whole day feeling.  
“I’m sorry that I went a bit too far with everything. I want to help you, but I’ll listen to you this time, I promise,” Jack said, making them both smile. As Alex went to reply, he coughed again, and held his throat with a grimace on his face when he was done.  
“Does your throat feel worse?” Jack asked.  
“It feels a lot worse,” Alex asked, his voice cracking.  
“I’ve got just the thing for that!” Jack exclaimed. He went to the kitchenette and came back a minute later with a mug.  
“Honey and lemon tea?” Jack asked, making Alex smile.  
“You’re seriously the best,” Alex said, sipping at the tea.   
“I try to be!” Jack exclaimed. He got into Alex’s bed so that Alex could combat his chills by latching onto him. They spent the rest of the night like this, with the South Park that Jack had paid for on the TV. Alex felt so grateful to have such a wonderful friend in Jack and was thankful for his willingness to help and put others first whenever he could.

**Author's Note:**

> Hey guys, this is a request for XxBlurryDiamondxX! This is the first of many requests they sent in, and I'm super excited to write them all within the next couple weeks! I actually really liked how this turned out, and I came up with a lot of the dialogue while in my stats class, instead of paying attention (oops). Anyway, I have quite a few requests to work on right now, but you guys are always welcome to send in ideas whenever, I'll just continue to add to the request list in my phone!! I hope you all liked this story, and I'm excited to post more requests in the upcoming days!! Lots of love, Liv.


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